Finding 11 employees of Ghandiyal Community Health Centre absent from work during a surprise check on Tuesday, Pauri sub-divisional magistrate Pl Shah has recommended to the district magistrate to deduct one day’s salary from the accounts of the absentees. This aside, they must be made to explain their absence from their assigned works.
Shah later told The Pioneer that he was utterly surprised finding 11 out of 20 employees being absent from the Government-run facility at Ghandiyal. “I was shocked all the more when told that five of the absent employees had not taken leave as per the procedure,” he added.
Notably, on such a surprise check at the District Hospital and District Women Hospital at Pauri last week, the chief development officer Harak Singh Rawat had found three doctors absent from their duty. Acting on the inquiry report submitted by the chief medical officer, the director Health Garhwal region Dr SD Uniyal ordered to stop paying salaries to these errant doctors from October.
The same experience befell the district magistrate Chandra Shekhar Bhatt when he embarked on a surprise checking at the regional transport office at Pauri. He found to his chagrin that the regional and assistant regional officers were absent. Acting on the annoyed DM’s recommendation, an inquiry is being conducted with the deputy commissioner Transport Sunita Singh as the inquiry officer. It is learnt that action will be taken after the inquiry report is submitted.
The work culture eroding across the State, absenteeism on the part of the employees and the officers is being increasingly discernible. To bring back the declining work culture on the right tracks and to stamp out the tendency to play truant with duties at will, DM Bhatt has launched a drive in the Pauri-Garhwal district. “More such surprise raids are needed and the pressure must be kept on to stop such people from making mockery of duties with impunity,” said an observer.